By: Molly N.
After listening to the interviews with the people in the Great Depression, I learned a few things from them. One of the things that I learned was that many of the workers still thought that the factories and the places that they worked at were still in bad conditions and were still dangerous, even after the Union tried to clean it up. An example of this is the interview with Mr. Garavelli (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/garavel.html). He talks about how many of the people at the factory that he worked at died of Silica. He also mentions the "suctions" which helped clean out the air, but don't clean it thoroughly enough because people still died of the disease. Another thing that I learned was that the poor people who worked during the Great Depression were annoyed with the fact that even though they worked hard for long hours they didn't get anything,while the rich people like Ford and Rockerfeller barely worked and they had millions. In one of the interviews, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/manpark.html, a man talks about how everyone is equal because everyone breathes the same air and has the same sun and the same breeze. The last thing that I learned from the interviews was that the Great Depression hit some people so hard that they had to doing anything it took to get money. Bernice, a woman in one of the interviews (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/bernice.html), talks about how when she moved here form Bermuda, she had to throw rent parties at her apartment to raise money to be able to pay for rent each month. In the beginning of the interview she stated how she had always hated them. This shows me that even though people hated to do something, they still had to do it to be able to get money to pay for their homes and for food.
By: Tess G.
During the Great Depression, many people had to fight just to stay alive. They didn't like their jobs, but they had to keep them for income. When a woman named Bernice was asked why she gave rent parties she said, "When I first came to New York from Bermuda I thought rent-parties were disgraceful. I couldn't understand how any self-respecting person could bear them, but when my husband, who was a pullman porter, ran off and left me with a sixty-dollar-a-month apartment on my hands and no job, I soon learned, like everyone else, to rent my rooms out an' throw these Saturday get togethers." (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/bernice.html) This shows how much many people hated the lives they had to live. These people were born poor, and therefore were stuck in a cycle of horrible jobs with low pay. Many of them had to move to cities like New York from their farms in the south and the Midwest. Workers all over the country were treated unfairly. Conditions in work places were unsafe and unions were not permitted. For example, Chris Thorsten, an iron worker, says you aren't an iron worker until you have been hurt or killed. He himself broke his collarbone, all of his ribs, and three vertebrae when he was smashed in a crane which made him unable to work for 4 years. (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/thorsten.html) Irving Fajans said during his interview that in the department store where he worked, they secretly recruited union members. If they were caught being part of a union, they would be fired. (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/irving.html) Many people had to work the same jobs they hated their entire lives, they were mistreated and disrespected. if I learned anything from these interviews, it is about the strength and extreem work ethic of those during the Great Depression.
By: David S.
From listening to all of the interviews from the men and women from the Great Depression, I realized that many of the work conditions for most of the jobs were unfair. They didn't have many laws during this time period that protected workers and their rights. Most of the owners were corrupted by greed. The owners or foremen in charge of businesses could usually have the workers do what ever the owners wanted them to do, such as buy them presents on holidays, or not even grant his employees any holiday customs. Although this was unfair, the workers could do nothing about these conditions without risking their own job (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/anna.html). If you were an Iron worker, the working conditions were never safe at all, and people would always get seriously injured or killed. All of the machines, such as cranes, didn't have safety devices to protect the workers like they do now-a-days. Like a man named Chris Thorsten said, "You ain't an iron worker unless you get killed." In every iron working project, it was a guarantee that someone was going to get hurt (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/thorsten.html ). While reading these interviews I also learned that unions were just starting to be formed, and people did their best to try to get as many people to join them. These unions worked to protect workers rights, by regulating conditions and wages. Unfortunately, if you were caught recruiting for the unions by your boss on the job, you would be instantly fired. Owners were strictly against unions, though they were inevitable because employees would advertise their union in as many discrete and silent ways as possible (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/irving.html).
By: Daniel V. After listening to all the personal accounts of the terrible things that happened to people during the Great Depression, I learned a lot of things. One of these things was that it was not uncommon for a construction worker or others laborious worker to lose his life or become seriously injured. One case of this happening was from Chris Thorsten, an iron worker living in New York City. He states that, “You’re not an iron worker, unless you get killed.” (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/thorsten.html). Another thing that I learned from listening to these interviews was that it could be extremely difficult to make enough money to pay rent, and support yourself. One thing that some people did was to through rent parties. These were gatherings of people to raise money to pay rent. One woman named Bernice, living in New York City, threw rent parties everything Saturday night at her apartment. She stated, “"When I first came to New York from Bermuda I thought rent-parties were disgraceful.” She soon realized after being abandoned by her husband, that they were not such a bad idea. She was expected to pay her sixty dollar a month rent (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/bernice.html). Some men at businesses just starting up were not allowed to start labor unions. Sometimes the men trying to organize these union meetings hid the invitations around the store in which they worked. This was a way to get the word out without the boss finding out. If the boss ever did find out about their union meetings, they were fired on the spot. One man that tried to use this plan was Irving Fajans. Irving was a worker that started working at Macy’s in the 1930’s (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/irving.html). All of these people were not treated as fairly as they should have been. All workers during this time and around the Great Depression, were treated like animals. The workers had no rights, no safety plans, and some people even died during this time.
By: Molly N.
After listening to the interviews with the people in the Great Depression, I learned a few things from them. One of the things that I learned was that many of the workers still thought that the factories and the places that they worked at were still in bad conditions and were still dangerous, even after the Union tried to clean it up. An example of this is the interview with Mr. Garavelli (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/garavel.html). He talks about how many of the people at the factory that he worked at died of Silica. He also mentions the "suctions" which helped clean out the air, but don't clean it thoroughly enough because people still died of the disease. Another thing that I learned was that the poor people who worked during the Great Depression were annoyed with the fact that even though they worked hard for long hours they didn't get anything,while the rich people like Ford and Rockerfeller barely worked and they had millions. In one of the interviews, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/manpark.html, a man talks about how everyone is equal because everyone breathes the same air and has the same sun and the same breeze. The last thing that I learned from the interviews was that the Great Depression hit some people so hard that they had to doing anything it took to get money. Bernice, a woman in one of the interviews (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/bernice.html), talks about how when she moved here form Bermuda, she had to throw rent parties at her apartment to raise money to be able to pay for rent each month. In the beginning of the interview she stated how she had always hated them. This shows me that even though people hated to do something, they still had to do it to be able to get money to pay for their homes and for food.
By: Tess G.
During the Great Depression, many people had to fight just to stay alive. They didn't like their jobs, but they had to keep them for income. When a woman named Bernice was asked why she gave rent parties she said, "When I first came to New York from Bermuda I thought rent-parties were disgraceful. I couldn't understand how any self-respecting person could bear them, but when my husband, who was a pullman porter, ran off and left me with a sixty-dollar-a-month apartment on my hands and no job, I soon learned, like everyone else, to rent my rooms out an' throw these Saturday get togethers." (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/bernice.html) This shows how much many people hated the lives they had to live. These people were born poor, and therefore were stuck in a cycle of horrible jobs with low pay. Many of them had to move to cities like New York from their farms in the south and the Midwest. Workers all over the country were treated unfairly. Conditions in work places were unsafe and unions were not permitted. For example, Chris Thorsten, an iron worker, says you aren't an iron worker until you have been hurt or killed. He himself broke his collarbone, all of his ribs, and three vertebrae when he was smashed in a crane which made him unable to work for 4 years. (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/thorsten.html) Irving Fajans said during his interview that in the department store where he worked, they secretly recruited union members. If they were caught being part of a union, they would be fired. (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/irving.html) Many people had to work the same jobs they hated their entire lives, they were mistreated and disrespected. if I learned anything from these interviews, it is about the strength and extreem work ethic of those during the Great Depression.
By: David S.
From listening to all of the interviews from the men and women from the Great Depression, I realized that many of the work conditions for most of the jobs were unfair. They didn't have many laws during this time period that protected workers and their rights. Most of the owners were corrupted by greed. The owners or foremen in charge of businesses could usually have the workers do what ever the owners wanted them to do, such as buy them presents on holidays, or not even grant his employees any holiday customs. Although this was unfair, the workers could do nothing about these conditions without risking their own job (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/anna.html). If you were an Iron worker, the working conditions were never safe at all, and people would always get seriously injured or killed. All of the machines, such as cranes, didn't have safety devices to protect the workers like they do now-a-days. Like a man named Chris Thorsten said, "You ain't an iron worker unless you get killed." In every iron working project, it was a guarantee that someone was going to get hurt (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/thorsten.html ). While reading these interviews I also learned that unions were just starting to be formed, and people did their best to try to get as many people to join them. These unions worked to protect workers rights, by regulating conditions and wages. Unfortunately, if you were caught recruiting for the unions by your boss on the job, you would be instantly fired. Owners were strictly against unions, though they were inevitable because employees would advertise their union in as many discrete and silent ways as possible (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/irving.html).
By: Daniel V.
After listening to all the personal accounts of the terrible things that happened to people during the Great Depression, I learned a lot of things. One of these things was that it was not uncommon for a construction worker or others laborious worker to lose his life or become seriously injured. One case of this happening was from Chris Thorsten, an iron worker living in New York City. He states that, “You’re not an iron worker, unless you get killed.” (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/thorsten.html). Another thing that I learned from listening to these interviews was that it could be extremely difficult to make enough money to pay rent, and support yourself. One thing that some people did was to through rent parties. These were gatherings of people to raise money to pay rent. One woman named Bernice, living in New York City, threw rent parties everything Saturday night at her apartment. She stated, “"When I first came to New York from Bermuda I thought rent-parties were disgraceful.” She soon realized after being abandoned by her husband, that they were not such a bad idea. She was expected to pay her sixty dollar a month rent (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/bernice.html). Some men at businesses just starting up were not allowed to start labor unions. Sometimes the men trying to organize these union meetings hid the invitations around the store in which they worked. This was a way to get the word out without the boss finding out. If the boss ever did find out about their union meetings, they were fired on the spot. One man that tried to use this plan was Irving Fajans. Irving was a worker that started working at Macy’s in the 1930’s (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/irving.html). All of these people were not treated as fairly as they should have been. All workers during this time and around the Great Depression, were treated like animals. The workers had no rights, no safety plans, and some people even died during this time.